Categories: 2020 Postgame Recaps

David Phelps’ miserable night dooms Phillies

Final Score: Red Sox 5, Phillies 2

After experiencing the elation of another walk-off victory from their prized rookie, the Phillies were brought back down to reality.

The reality is that the Phillies still have the worst bullpen in Major League Baseball. A couple of trade acquisitions didn’t seem to change that.

David Phelps has struggled since moving from Milwaukee to Philadelphia. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

David Phelps came into the game in relief of Vince Velasquez and walked the first batter on four pitches and surrendered a home run to the very next hitter. He faced three batters without recording an out.

In his short time with the Phillies, he has allowed five earned runs. He had surrendered just four earned runs all season before he was traded from Milwaukee to Philadelphia.

Top Plays

The Phillies scored first on a wild pitch. Former Phillies catcher Deivy Grullón could not corral a slider from Chris Mazza and Rhys Hoskins scored from third. Didi Gregorius would then drive in J.T. Realmuto from second on a single, but he was caught in a run-down to end the first inning.
Red Sox right fielder Tzu-Wei Lin pulled the Red Sox to within one with a two-out base hit off Velasquez in the top of the second. Velasquez tried to put him away with a curveball, but Lin stayed on it and flipped it to left field.
It only seemed fitting that just a week after the Phillies gave up on Grullón, he would get his revenge. His RBI single that tied the game was the first RBI of his career and just his second hit in the major leagues. Jackie Bradley Jr. was able to score from second after advancing to scoring position on a Realmuto passed ball.
For some reason, the Phillies seem to keep losing their heads when running on the basepaths. In the fourth, Realmuto advanced from first to second on a wild pitch, but tried to take an extra base and was out. It was an egregious miscue that could have cost the Phillies a much-needed run. These kinds of mistakes seem to be piling up for the Phillies.
Bobby Dalbec hit his second home run of the doubleheader off Phelps, who began his inning of relief as poorly as he possibly can. A four-pitch walk proceeded the home run. So far, it’s not going well at all for the Phillies’ shinest deadline acquisition.

Heath Hembree’s struggles continued as he surrendered an RBI single to Dalbec to extend Boston’s lead to three. With the bottom of the order up in the seventh for the Phillies, the run put the game out of reach.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Chris Mazza: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 58 pitches

Mazza rebounded beautifully after a rough first inning, retiring six consecutive batters at one point. He’s not stretched out like a typical starter, so he only lasted five despite throwing only 58 pitches.

Vince Velasquez: 5 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K, 90 pitches

Many could laugh at this line and say this is a typical Velasquez outing. Maybe it is but Velasquez could build off of what he did Tuesday night. He did a good job at limiting hard contact and striking out hitters, which is really all the Phillies could ask for in a pitcher that made his last start 20 days ago.

Phillies Nuggets

Player of the Game: Bobby Dalbec

The Red Sox’ No. 3 prospect has some raw power and he tapped into that in both games of the doubleheader. His home run in Game 1 traveled 426 feet into the upper deck in left and his second landed a few rows deep in right-center field. He definitely wasn’t cheated on either of those two pitches.

He’ll end the night hitting 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in both games.

Quote of the Game

Velasquez went into great detail during his postgame media availability about where he’s at physically and mentally, despite all the challenges he’s faced throughout his career.

“I could only just be right in the middle,” Velasquez said. “I don’t know how to feel up or down. I could only run with the punches and keep going and keep working on what I need to do to. Whether it’s a role in the bullpen. Whether it’s a start today or whether it’s a doubleheader, it’s so hard to solidify how to really feel until you’re actually in the game.”

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